On food and cooking
by Harold McGee · first published 1984
74% recommend25% neutral1% critical
Why HN recommends it
Exhaustive, readable reference on the science, chemistry and history behind food and kitchen techniques; suits curious cooks and food nerds who want to know why things work, not just recipes. Dip in anywhere.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking is a kitchen classic. Hailed by Time magazine as "a minor masterpiece" when it first appeared in 1984, On Food and Cooking is the bible to which food lovers and professional chefs worldwide turn for an understanding of where our foods come from, what exactly they're made of, and how cooking transforms them into something new and delicious. Now, for its twentieth anniversary, Harold McGee has prepared a new, fully revised and updated edition of On Food and Cooking. He has rewritten the text almost completely, expanded it by two-thirds, and commissioned more th
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2013–2023The Professional Chef
Culinary Institute of America., Elizabeth Riely, Steven Kolpan, Linda Blocker
Recommended by 8 · mentioned by 118 recommend · 11 mention8 recommend · 118 recommend
2009–2026Ratio
Michael Ruhlman
Recommended by 18 · mentioned by 2218 recommend · 22 mention18 recommend · 2218 recommend
2013–2026The Food Lab
J. Kenji López-Alt
Recommended by 46 · mentioned by 5946 recommend · 59 mention46 recommend · 5946 recommend
2010–2026Cooking for Geeks
Jeff Potter
Recommended by 23 · mentioned by 2523 recommend · 25 mention23 recommend · 2523 recommend
2017–2025Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat
Samin Nosrat
Recommended by 53 · mentioned by 6953 recommend · 69 mention53 recommend · 6953 recommend
2012–2022Twenty
Michael Ruhlman
Recommended by 9 · mentioned by 109 recommend · 10 mention9 recommend · 109 recommend
2009–2026Joy of Cooking
Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, Ethan Becker, John Becker
Recommended by 23 · mentioned by 3723 recommend · 37 mention23 recommend · 3723 recommend
2007–2026How to Cook Everything
Mark Bittman
Recommended by 29 · mentioned by 3529 recommend · 35 mention29 recommend · 3529 recommend
…in, as well. Pressure cooked meats can have a different texture than traditionally cooked ones, but it's not as objectionable in my mind. If you liked the post thoughtfully linked here, Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking is a must.
on “Science of Slow Cooking” ↗…http://www.amazon.com/Vegetarian-Cooking-Everyone-Deborah-Ma... * Mark Bittman, Fish (If you can't cook fish after this, kill yourself) -- http://www.amazon.com/Fish-Complete-Guide-Buying-Cooking/dp/... * Harold McGee, On Food and Cooking (unrivaled, in depth, the go-to resource for food hackers) -- http://www.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp/0... * Julia Child, Mastering the Art of French Cooking (the original food hacker)…
on “Why your desk job is slowly killing you” ↗…hope that the book uses metric units. I recently read "The Science of Good Cooking", which was interesting but unfortunately used US units throughout, which makes it quite unscientific in my opinion. "On Food and Cooking" by Harold McGee is another great book about the chemistry of cooking, and I especially like it since it doesn't try hard to be hip or cool as opposed to some other books about cooking chemistry I could…
on “The Hard Truth About Boiled Eggs (2014)” ↗Kenji is awesome, and probably the best reason to read seriouseats. But for anyone who enjoys food science, you really have to start with Harold McGee's classic "On Food and Cooking": http://smile.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp... (Sorry for the enormous URL.) Also, I binge-listen to Dave Arnold's podcast, "Cooking Issues" on Heritage Radio network. A treasure…
on “The Hard Truth About Boiled Eggs (2014)” ↗…lots of perfectly ordinary and harmless chemical compounds (e.g. ethyl butyrate, valencine) have scary-sounding names, and lots of toxic ones don't. If you want to educate yourself, pick up a copy of _On Food and Cooking_ by Harold McGee, and learn about what those compounds actually are. Or you can run around screaming about the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide. I for one would not be the slightest bit bothered if somebody…
on “The Secret Ingredient In Your Orange Juice” ↗…away hours on meaningless entertainments is at least as old as the mechanical player piano. Despite the countervailing evidence of the Salk Vaccine, the ARPA IMP, Google, stem cell transplants, McGee's _On Food And Cooking_, and everything else society has managed to accomplished while beset by the horrors of entertainment, you are welcome to hold the view that you are better not only than the people who avail themselves…
on “The Lost Chapter” ↗…I can't justify dropping $500 for a book, but I soooooo want to. ;) McGee and Ferran Adria both say this set of books is going to change cooking. McGee wrote basically the bible of culinary science (On Food And Cooking, which you should buy even if you don't cook much, it's just a great, great book to open to any page and thumb through); Ferran Adria is one of cooking's greatest innovators.
on “Nathan Myhrvold unveils massive cookbook for science geeks” ↗…baking and deep frying -Sesame for Asian -Don't worry about flavored oils until a recipe calls for them or you're comfortable experimenting One of my favorite books for cooking is by Harold McGee, 'On Food and Cooking'. He takes a wonderful look at the science (chemistry and physics) behind your food and cooking, and I learned quite a bit from it. If you get the chance, it's worth picking up.
on “Which oils are best to cook with?” ↗I disagree with the J. Kenji Lopez-Alt suggestions. He is too extreme/OCD for beginners. A much more accessible source is Harold McGee who wrote "On Food and Cooking - The Science and Lore of the Kitchen". McGee reviews the science but also some history. He also reviews some of the cooking tips your mom gave you and why they work or don't work.
on “The unreasonable effectiveness of just showing up everyday” ↗On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee, is perhaps one of the more interesting books on food science that is not a cook book. It's not something that you would read straight through, but great none the less. Modernist Cuisine…
on “Ask HN: Which book can attract anyone towards your field of study?” ↗May I add 'On Food and Cooking' by Harold McGee (ISBN 0684843285)? McGee also writes at http://curiouscook.com/.
on “How to make McDonalds french fries” ↗I just checked McGee's _On Food and Cooking_ (highly recommended, especially if you like Good Eats), and he's uncharacteristically vague about the effect lighter and darker roasts have on caffeine content. (The 2004 edition just mentions the weight…
on “Common Programmer Health Problems” ↗On Food And Cooking is AMAZING. McGee used to live in Palo Alto too. I just bought the Thomas Keller Sous Vide book. I'll probably buy the myrhvold book too. You know what I've found terribly useful lately? The Flavor…
on “Nathan Myhrvold unveils massive cookbook for science geeks” ↗…also help preserve muscle mass. I also give people a standard reading/homework list: -- Michael Pollan's essay Unhappy Meals -- Deborah Madsion's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone -- Howard McGee's On Food and Cooking -- Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking -- Watch "Food, Inc" and "King Corn"
on “How to lose weight: What worked for me, with graphs” ↗…establishments, and can honestly say that I've never had a better piece of pork anywhere. Of course, the real learning is in actually cooking. Watching shows and reading books (I recommend Harold McGee's "On Food and Cooking", or Alton Brown's books) might teach you the theory of cooking, but actually DOING is still the best way to learn. I have a friend of mine who had literally never cooked a meal in his life that didn't…
on “Ask HN: How many hackers (or even tech enthusiasts here) love to cook?” ↗